1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention generally relates to vehicle roller shade assemblies, and more particularly relates to a vehicle roller shade assembly having a two piece removable end cap.
2. Description of Related Art
Security shades, covers, tie downs and nets have been used in vehicle for decades to hide and stabilize content of cargo areas in vehicles. Covers or shades are particularly used to obscure the visibility of the contents of cargo areas which are visible from the outside of the vehicle. An example of this in the prior art is a cargo space of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) wherein the cargo area is typically most visible through the rear windows behind the seat or the rear window. Protectable shades are drawn over the cargo area to obscure any levels below the bottom of the windows and typically somewhat below the highest end of the second row seats when in the upright position. For many designs it is difficult to gain access under items under the cover without opening the rear of the vehicle. One key feature of the present device is the ability to use the security shade in a variety of positions within the automotive vehicle, thus requiring a change in the length of the roller or end caps for the security shade to allow for such variety of uses within an automotive vehicle interior.
Many of these prior art shade assemblies that are used as security shades are built in numerous variations and with multiple lengths for a single model vehicle or a larger vehicle line. For example, many of the security shades are typically mounted in brackets between the interior trim panels inside of a motor vehicle. The distance between the two interior panels varies between cars of the same production by either numerous inches, tenths of the inch or the like, however, the shade assembly must still be able to fit between the panels and not rattle back and forth within the vehicle. Therefore, the ability to have at least a two position end cap that will change the effective overall length of a security shade via the end caps will allow for a single vehicle security shade to be used across numerous vehicle lines, not just a specifically designed built single model security shade as has been the case of most prior art shade assembly systems.
Many of these prior art vehicle security shades have a roller that utilizes end caps at the end of the rollers and generally either one or both of them are spring loaded on respective ends of the rollers. To install the rollers, end caps are compressed to fit the roller into the brackets and when released the spring restraints in the end caps use an axially outward force against the bracket on the trim panels, keeping the roller in place within the vehicle interior. Many of these spring loaded designs also provide a self centering action which allows for easy installation or removal of such security shades with one hand.
There have been many attempts within the prior art to secure the roller within the brackets, which has been met with relative amounts of success. Generally, many of these devices typically add weight and/or cost to the shade and offer limited advantages over the floating end caps thus making the shades significantly more difficult to install or remove. Therefore, there is a need in the prior art for a novel and improved end cap for use with a security shade or shade assembly within a vehicle. There also is a need in the prior art for a two piece removable end cap that will reduce the length of the shade assemblies by allowing a single shade assembly to be used over a variety of vehicle lines having a variety of lengths by adjusting the end caps within the interior of the vehicles. Furthermore, there is a need in the art for an end cap that will be a two piece removable end cap that can be used on one or both ends of a roller system to effectively allow for three variations of length. This will reduce the cost and manufacturing time of the vehicle security shade for use across multiple vehicle lines of an automotive manufacturer.